Newsletter

South Dixie renovation plans presented

St. Augustine residents got to examine drawings Thursday that show what South Dixie Highway might look like after a complete renovation from West King Street to State Road 207 — and they seemed to like what they saw.

The project’s cost has not yet been established.

But engineer Rachel Back of the consulting firm RS&H, working for the city, said construction alone could be $3.5 million. Purchasing the necessary right of way would, of course, add more to the project’s final cost, she said.

However, some of that cost can be paid by grants.

Back outlined the benefits to South Dixie’s renovation to a small but interested crowd at City Hall, almost evenly divided between local residents and engineers.

“Those of you who live here know that the roadway basically disappears under a heavy rain,” Back said, adding that the roadway reconstruction would leave flat South Dixie slightly elevated, with larger drain pipes installed. “Right now, storm water just goes where it wants to go.”

Also, right of way varies from 70 feet wide at State Road 207 to 40 feet most of the way and tapering down to 24 feet at West King.

However, if there isn’t enough right of way, the generous sidewalks might shrink down to an 8-foot-wide shared-use path for bikes and pedestrians both. In addition, 200 feet of the northernmost section is so narrow that it might only fit one 5-foot-wide sidewalk, she said.

Todd Grant, the city’s assistant director of public works, said, “We’re in the very preliminary stages of getting this design finalized.”

Grant said that some of the cost can be offset by grants for improving storm water drainage and pedestrian access and making the road safer for children who walk to school.

One resident didn’t like that a better South Dixie could bring more traffic to quiet Leonardi Street, which connects South Dixie to King. The residents there had — years ago — petitioned the city to prohibit truck traffic on Leonardi and make its intersection with South Dixie discouraging to passenger cars.

The city reconfigured that intersection and it worked, but now some residents see a new threat.

Flagler College professor Casey Welch asked that the city consider putting the new utility lines underground.